Golf accessory device and method

ABSTRACT

A tool includes a divot repair tool, a ball marker that may be decorated in a variety of designs, and a shaft clip to removably attach the golf accessory to a golf putter shaft. The tool is useful for providing a golfer with an easily accessible golf accessory on the putting green, as the device is designed to remain stationery on the golf putter shaft during use of the golf putter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/414,562 filed on Jan. 24,2017, which is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/396,956 filed Sep. 20, 2016; both of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following includes information that may be useful in understandingthe present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the providedinformation is prior art or material to the presently described orclaimed inventions, or that any publication or document that isspecifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of golf and morespecifically relates to golf accessories.

2. Description of Related Art

Golf is a game enjoyed all over the world by both professional athletesand amateurs. It is a sport in which players use various clubs to hitballs into a series of holes on a course in as few stokes as possible.Play begins at a teeing ground and golfers must aim the ball towards theputting green, the area where the flagstick and hole are located.

A putter is a golf club, generally, exclusively used on the puttinggreen to make relatively short and low-speed strokes with the intentionof rolling the ball into the hole from a short distance away. It isdifferentiated from other clubs (typically irons and woods) by a clubhead with a very flat, low-profile, and low-loft striking face. It is ahighly specialized tool for a specific job and is always required on theputting green.

During the play of golf, additional accessories may be needed. Suchaccessories may include a device to repair divots in the putting greenand/or a flat marker to mark a ball on the putting green. Theseaccessories are typically carried in a golfer's pocket or fastened to agolf cart or bag. This is inconvenient, uncomfortable, and wastes timebecause a player then has to disrupt the game to scour through hispockets; or in cases where the device is fastened to the golf cart orbag, the golfer has to remember to carry the tools to the green.Further, if the golfer forgets any tools, he may have to return to thegolf cart or bag to retrieve the tool, which would cause an undesirabledelay to the game. For this reason, it is important for the golfer tohave all necessary tools available to repair divots, and to mark balllocations. Thus, a need exists for an easily accessible divot repairtool and ball marker while on the putting green.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,050,503 to Haley relates to a golf utility tool. Thedescribed golf utility tool includes a clip that may be used to clip toa putter. The golf utility tool may further include a divot tool prongand a ball marker that is removably attached. Additionally, the golfutility tool may further include a loop cutout for carrying otherdevices, such as a towel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known golfaccessories art, the present disclosure provides a novel tool. Thegeneral purpose of the present disclosure, which will be describedsubsequently in greater detail, is to provide a tool for golfing.

A golf accessory or tool is disclosed herein. The golf accessoryincludes a divot repair tool including a body, a pair of divot repairprongs extending from the body, a recessed cavity within the body, and amagnetic insert within the recessed cavity, a ball marker configured tofit within the recessed cavity and to magnetically couple with themagnetic insert when within the recessed cavity, and a shaft clipincluding a shaft receiver and a shaft retainer. The shaft clip is fixedto the divot repair tool, the shaft clip configured to removably cliponto the golf putter shaft with enough grip to remain stationary duringuse of the golf putter.

According to another embodiment, a method of using the golf accessory isalso disclosed. The method of using the golf accessory includes thesteps of clipping the golf accessory on a first diameter of a golfputter shaft, sliding the golf accessory up to a second diameter of thegolf putter shaft up by the putter grip, the second diameter beingenough larger than the first diameter to secure the golf accessory frommovement when the golf putter is used, using the golf putter until thegolf accessory is needed, removing a magnetic ball marker from the golfaccessory while the golf accessory remains clamped on the golf puttershaft, sliding the golf accessory away from the second diameter of thegolf putter shaft until loose and removing the golf accessory from thegolf putter shaft.

For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages,and novel features of the invention have been described. It is to beunderstood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved inaccordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus,the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achievesor optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught withoutnecessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested.The features of the invention that are believed to be novel areparticularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concludingportion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, andadvantages of the present invention will become better understood withreference to the following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures which accompany the written portion of this specificationillustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, agolf accessory device, constructed and operative according to theteachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the golf accessory during an ‘in-use’condition, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the golf accessory during an ‘in-use’condition, showing the marker separated from the golf accessory.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the golf accessory of FIG. 1, showingthe marker coupled to the golf accessory.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the golf accessory of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the golf accessory of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A is a bottom view of the golf accessory of FIG. 1, according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B is a side view of the golf accessory of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of use of the golfaccessory, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The various embodiments of the present invention will be described inconjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denotelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to golfaccessories and more particularly to a golf accessory as used to improvegolf accessory devices.

Generally, disclosed is a combination divot tool and ball marker forattachment to a golf putter. The golf accessory is useful for providingeasier and quicker access to the divot tool and ball marker, so that agolf player does not have to waste time in trying to find the apparatus.The golf accessory is configured to snap on at a thinner diameter of agolf putter shaft and slide up to the thicker diameter up by the puttergrip and is intended to remain on the golf putter, including whileputting. The only time the golf accessory is removed from the golfputter shaft is when the golf player needs to use the divot repair toolto fix divots or marks left on a putting green. Further to this, thegolf accessory has a low profile and no moving or breakable parts.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals ofreference, there is shown in FIGS. 1-5, various views of a golfaccessory 100.

FIG. 1 shows a golf accessory (“golf accessory” 100 or “tool” 100)during an “in-use” condition 150, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. Here, the tool 100 may be beneficial for use by agolfer (user 140) to provide an easily accessible golf accessory on aputting green. Illustrated in FIG. 1 is the user 140 placing the golfaccessory 100 onto a golf putter shaft 5. The golf accessory 100 mayinclude a divot repair tool 110, a ball marker 120 and a shaft clip 130.

FIG. 2 illustrates a user 140 making a putt with a golf putter 10 whilethe golf accessory 100 remains clipped onto the golf putter shaft 5 upby the putter grip. The figure generally represents a size of the golfaccessory 100 in comparison to the golf putter shaft 5 and demonstratesthe ease of use of the golf putter while the golf accessory remainsclipped to the golf putter shaft 5.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the golf accessory or tool 100 of FIG.1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here the golfaccessory 100 is shown in isolation with the ball marker 120 separated.The divot repair tool 110 may include a body 314, a pair of divot repairprongs 312 extending from the body 314, a recessed cavity 302 within thebody 314, and a magnetic insert 304 within the recessed cavity 302.

Relatedly, the ball marker 120 is shown configured to fit within therecessed cavity 302, and to magnetically couple with the magnetic insert304 when within the recessed cavity 302. Likewise, the shaft clip 130may include a shaft receiver 502 and a shaft retainer 504. The shaftclip 130 may be fixed to the divot repair tool 110. The shaft clip 130may be further configured to removably clip on to the golf putter shaft5 (FIG. 5) up by the putter grip, with enough grip to remain stationaryduring use of the golf putter 10. In another embodiment, the golfaccessory may further comprise a set of instructions and the golfaccessory may be arranged with the instructions as a kit.

The figure illustrates the divot repair tool 110 including the body 314,the pair of divot repair prongs 312 extending from the body 314, therecessed cavity 302 within the body 314, and the magnetic insert 304within the recessed cavity 302, the ball marker 120 configured to fitwithin the recessed cavity 302 and to magnetically couple with themagnetic insert 304 when within the recessed cavity 302, and the shaftclip 130 including a shaft receiver 502 and a shaft retainer 504. Theshaft clip 130 may be fixed to the divot repair tool 110, the shaft clip130 configured to removably clip on to the golf putter shaft 5 (FIG. 1).

The recessed cavity 302 of the divot repair tool 110 may include anindentation 306 configured to aid in the removal of the ball marker 120from the recessed cavity 302. In addition to this, the recessed cavity302 may include a raised ring 308 around a circumference of the recessedcavity 302, the raised ring 308 being configured to inhibit the ballmarker 120 from moving from the recessed cavity 302. The ball marker 120may have a diameter no greater than a diameter of the recessed cavity302. In some embodiments, the ball marker 120 may have a variety ofdesigns.

According to a further embodiment, the recessed cavity 302 of the divotrepair tool 110 may be asymmetric or circular in shape. The recessedcavity 302 may include an indentation 306 configured to aid in removalof the ball marker 120 from the recessed cavity 302.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the tool 100 of FIG. 1 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure demonstrating how the ball marker120 fits into the recessed cavity 302 of the divot repair tool 110. Thisfigure illustrates the divot repair tool 110 including the body 314 andthe pair of divot repair prongs 312 extending from the body 314, theball marker 120 configured to fit within the recessed cavity 302 of thedivot repair tool 110 and to magnetically couple with the magneticinsert 304 when within the recessed cavity 302, and the shaft clip 130including a shaft receiver 502 and a shaft retainer 504. The shaft clip130 may be fixed to the divot repair tool 110. The figure showsaccording to one embodiment that the shaft clip 130 may include ananti-slip material 310 configured to resist slippage when clamped ontothe golf putter shaft 5 up by the putter grip.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the tool 100 of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. This figure illustrates a divotrepair tool 110 including the body 314 and the pair of divot repairprongs 312 extending from the body 314, the ball marker 120 configuredto fit within the recessed cavity 302 of the divot repair tool 110 andto magnetically couple with the magnetic insert 304 when within therecessed cavity 302, and the raised ring 308 around the circumference ofthe recessed cavity 302.

FIG. 5A is a bottom view of the tool 100 of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. The figure demonstrates thecomponents of the shaft clip 130 of the tool 100 configured to removablyclip on to the golf putter shaft 5 (FIG. 1) up by the putter grip.Illustrated is a divot repair tool 110 including the body 314 and thepair of divot repair prongs 312 extending from the body 314, the shaftclip 130 including the shaft receiver 502 and the shaft retainer 504.The shaft clip 130 is fixed to the divot repair tool 110.

The shaft clip 130 may be configured to exert a biasing friction forcewhen clipped onto the golf putter shaft 5 up by the putter grip, suchthat the shaft clip 130 is held in place during use of the golf putter10. For example, the shaft clip 130 may have an inner diameter between0.5% and 5% smaller than a diameter of the golf putter shaft 5 in orderto exert a enough grip on the golf putter shaft 5. In a further example,the shaft clip 130 may have enough grip on the golf putter shaft 5 toremain stationery during a club head speed of up to 10 mph.

According to a further embodiment, the shaft clip 130 may include ananti-slip material 310 (FIG. 5B) configured to resist slippage when theshaft clip 130 is clamped onto the golf putter shaft 5 up by the puttergrip. For example, the anti-slip material 310 (FIG. 5B) may include atleast one of rubber, silicone, synthetic anti-slip polymers, and thelike.

Further, the shaft receiver 502 includes a shaft-seat 508 and ashaft-opening 506, the shaft-seat 508 configured to circumscribe between180 and 315 degrees of the shaft axis when the golf putter shaft 5 isseated in the shaft-seat 508. Further the shaft-opening 506 may extend acomplementary arc about the shaft axis between 180 to 45 degrees,respectively, when the golf putter shaft 5 is seated in the shaft-seat508.

The shaft receiver 502 and the shaft retainer 504 may be combinedtogether as a flexible member 510 configured to deform away from thegolf putter shaft 5 when the golf putter shaft 5 is pressed into theshaft-opening 506, and to retract against and hold the golf putter shaft5 when the golf putter shaft 5 is fully seated into the shaft-seat 508.The shaft receiver 502 may further include flared legs 512 at opposingends of the shaft-seat 508. As shown, the flared legs 512 define theshaft-opening 506 and are configured to flexibly spread open and awayfrom the golf putter shaft 5 when the golf putter shaft 5 is pressedinto the shaft-opening 506.

As illustrated, the shaft receiver 502 and the shaft retainer 504 may becombined together as the flexible member 510, with the flexible member510 configured to deform away from the golf putter shaft 5 when the golfputter shaft 5 is pressed into the shaft receiver 502, and to retractagainst and hold the golf putter shaft 5 when the golf putter shaft 5 isfully seated into the shaft receiver 502.

FIG. 5B is a side view of the tool 100 of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. The figure demonstrates how theshaft clip 130 of the golf accessory 100 is attached to the golf puttershaft 5 up by the putter grip. Illustrated is a divot repair tool 110including the body 314 and the pair of divot repair prongs 312 extendingfrom the body 314.

For purposes of this disclosure, “prevent substantial movement” meansthat any movement of the tool during putter use goes un-noticed by thegolfer. In some embodiments, the divot repair tool attaches near thegrip end of the putter or other golf club. This placement yields twoimprovements. First, when positioned near the grip end, the tool doesn'tintrude into the user's field of vision when putting; nothing extraneousis visible during the putt to distract the user.

Second, positioning the tool near the grip has less effect on the club'sbalance. Instead of the mass of the tool acting at the end of the radiusbetween the grip end and the head, the mass acts through a much shorterdistance, which upsets the balance of the club to a lesser extent or notat all. For purposes of this disclosure, upset the balance of the clubmeans that the golfer has to consciously compensate for the presence ofthe tool.

Near the grip means in the top half of the club, in the top quarter ofthe club, within one or 2 inches of the lower end of the grip, adjacentthe lower end of the grip, or on the grip.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for using the golfaccessory, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Inparticular, the method for using the golf accessory 600 may include oneor more components or features of the golf accessory 100 as describedabove. As illustrated, the method for using the golf accessory 600 mayinclude the steps of: step one 601, clipping the golf accessory on afirst diameter of the golf putter shaft of a golf putter; step two 602,sliding the golf accessory up to a second diameter of the golf puttershaft, the second diameter being enough larger than the first diameterto secure the golf accessory from movement when the golf putter isplayed; step three 603, using the golf putter until the golf accessoryis needed; step four 604, removing the magnetic ball marker from thegolf accessory while the golf accessory remains clamped on the golfputter shaft; step five 605, sliding the golf accessory away from thesecond diameter of the golf putter shaft until loose; and step six 606,removing the golf accessory from the golf putter shaft.

It should also be noted that the steps described in the method of usecan be carried out in many different orders according to userpreference. The use of “step of” should not be interpreted as “stepfor”, in the claims herein and is not intended to invoke the provisionsof 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). It should also be noted that, under appropriatecircumstances, considering such issues as design preference, userpreferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements,available materials, technological advances, etc., other methods forusing the golf accessory (e.g., different step orders withinabove-mentioned list, elimination or addition of certain steps,including or excluding certain maintenance steps, etc.), are taughtherein.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary andnumerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readilyenvisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which areintended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention.Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application.

What is claimed is new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:
 1. A tool including: a body having: apair of extending divot repair prongs, a ball marker cavity, and amagnetic insert within the cavity; a ball marker matching the cavity; aputter clip adjacent the body, wherein the clip removably clips onto aputter near the grip.
 2. The tool of claim 1 wherein near the grip is inthe uppermost ¼ of the club.
 3. The tool of claim 2 wherein near thegrip is within 2 inches of the grip.
 4. The tool of claim 2 wherein nearthe grip is adjacent the grip.
 5. The tool of claim 4 wherein the ballmarker couples with the cavity.
 6. The tool of claim 5 wherein the ballmarker magnetically couples with the magnetic insert.
 7. The tool ofclaim 6 wherein the clip comprises a flexible member.
 8. The tool ofclaim 7 wherein the flexible member comprises a metal.
 9. The tool ofclaim 7 wherein the flexible member comprises a rubber.
 10. The tool ofclaim 7 wherein the flexible member comprises a plastic.
 11. The tool ofclaim 10 wherein the recessed cavity is asymmetric.
 12. The tool ofclaim 10 wherein the recessed cavity is circular.
 13. The tool of claim12 wherein the prongs comprise a metal.
 14. The tool of claim 13 whereinthe recessed cavity further includes a raised circumferential ringconfigured to inhibit the ball marker from moving from the recessedcavity.
 15. The tool of claim 14 wherein the clip is configured to exertenough force to removably secure the tool during putting when clippedonto the putter.
 16. The tool of claim 15 wherein the clip is configuredto exert enough force to prevent substantial movement of the tool duringputting.
 17. A tool including: a body having: a pair of extending divotrepair prongs, a ball marker cavity, and a magnetic insert within thecavity; a ball marker matching the cavity; a putter clip adjacent thebody, wherein the clip removably clips onto a putter out of view of thegolfer when putting.
 18. A tool including: a body having: a pair ofextending divot repair prongs, a ball marker cavity, and a magneticinsert within the cavity; a ball marker matching the cavity; a putterclip adjacent the body, wherein the clip removably clips onto a putterwithout upsetting the balance of the club when putting.
 19. The tool ofclaim 18 wherein the clip removably clips onto the putter out of view ofthe golfer when putting.
 20. A method of using the tool of claim 1comprising: clipping the tool on a first diameter of a putter shaft;sliding the tool along the shaft to a second diameter, the seconddiameter large enough to prevent substantial movement of the tool duringputting; using the golf putter until the tool is needed; sliding thetool away from the second diameter of the putter shaft until loose;removing the tool from the putter shaft; and fixing a dimple or divot inthe green using the divot repair prongs.